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Saturday, 4 April 2015

Lightning strikes two planes over Washington

At least two jets were struck by bolts of lightning as they descended from into Seattle Tacoma Airport in Washington on Wednesday. This terrifying footage was captured by Owen Craft who had begun filming the storm in the hope of catching some forked lightning on video – he never expected to capture two separate planes being struck by it. While the dramatic mid-air strikes may look dangerous, aviation safety experts say passengers may notice a flash of light but are not in any danger. Professor Mamu Haddad from Cardiff University’s Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory, says modern aircraft have a thin layer of copper on the outside which conducts the current over its surface, protecting the cabin within. He says planes are built to withstand the burning from a bolt of lightning, which can have temperatures of up to 30,000C. FULL REPORT